Dr. Ganesh Badge, Pediatric Intensivist Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune
- She had an almond in her mouth when she jumped and coughed, resulting in the almond entering her windpipe – the trachea – and blocking the airway.
- The Oxygen in her blood started to drop which reduced her sensorium, i.e. her reaction to sensory stimuli.
- A tube was inserted to secure airway, followed by a bronchoscopy that found two almond particles, one in central trachea and the other one in right side of the bronchus.
- The girl was on ventilation after procedure for a day due to lung collapse and swelling in the airway but was managed well without any complication by Dr. Ganesh Badge and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) team at Columbia Asia Hospital.
Poor eating habits are known to cause nutritional deficiencies in children. However, a 10-year-old girl here had a brush with serious breathing problem when she choked on an almond she was eating during playtime and was brought in the emergency department of Columbia Asia Hospital,Pune.
“The child named (Sakshi) was brought to us with difficulty in breathing. Her parents told us that she had an almond in her mouth when she jumped and coughed, resulting in the almond entering her windpipe – the trachea. This blocked the airway and she was unable to breathe. Besides, 0xygen saturation in her blood drop because of blocked wind pipe.(Baby is not able to breathe and less air goes to the lungs so respiration gets affect and oxygen level starts dropping) with reduce sensorium, i.e. her reaction to sensory stimuli. We incubated (insert a tube into a person or a body part, especially the trachea for ventilation) her in emergency room to secure airway. After that, we conducted a bronchoscopy – we found two almond particles in her, one in central trachea and the other one in right side of the bronchus which caused air-trapping and breathing problems,” says Dr. Ganesh Badge, Pediatric Intensivist Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune.
As the size of the almond was big it took some effort by ENT surgeon Dr. Vijay Sharma to remove it. The girl was on ventilation after procedure for 1 day due to lung collapse and swelling in the airway but was managed well without any complication by Dr Badge and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) team at Columbia Asia Hospital. She was discharged without any breathing difficulty and has no complications.
POINTS TO REMEMBER WHILE FEEDING YOUR CHILD:
- Maintain an upright and static position of the child while eating.
- Make sure they are chewing the food well before swallowing.
- Avoid feeding children when they are playing, or running, or watching TV, or engaged in some other work.
- Do not allow them eat lying down or in a reclined position.
- Keep a close eye on children when they are eating something for the first time.
- Small food pieces such as nuts, grapes, beans, and popcorn are more likely to choke the airway. Supervise the children during the period they are introduced to these.
